| Year |
Developments at Sharp |
World Events |
| 1981 |
- ・ Completes construction of Shinjo (Katsuragi) Plant in Nara
- ・ Completes construction of Sharp Memorial and Technology Halls in Tenri, Nara
- ・ Markets VZ-V3, the world's first stereo system that automatically plays both sides of a record
- ・ Markets IQ-5000 electronic translator with voice synthesis technology
- ・ Develops long-life laser diode
- ・ Consolidates 12 home appliance sales companies to form Sharp Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.
|
- ・ Ronald Reagan becomes US president (January 20)
- ・ Francois Mitterand elected president of France (May 10)
|
| 1982 |
- ・ Markets X1, the world’s first PC-TV Set
- ・ Establishes Sharp Finance Corporation
- ・ Establishes Sharp (Phils.) Corporation (SPC), a joint manufacturing company in the Philippines
|
|
| 1983 |
- ・ Constructs Tokyo Research Laboratories in Kashiwa, Chiba
- ・ Industry's first mass production plant for EL displays goes on line
- ・ Develops world's first microwave oven incorporating shape memory alloy
|
- ・ Tokyo Disneyland opens (April 15)
|
| 1984 |
- ・ Consolidated net sales reach one trillion yen for the first time
- ・ Develops world’s first ultra-compact, high-performance FET (field effect transistor) humidity sensor, a single-chip device incorporating a humidity sensor and FET with built-in temperature sensor
- ・ Achieves world’s first production of 10 million microwave ovens
|
- ・ Satellite broadcasts begin in Japan (May 12)
- ・ Japan’s average life expectancy becomes the world’s highest for both men and women
|
| 1985 |
- ・ Constructs IC plant in Fukuyama, Hiroshima
- ・ Launches "New Lifestyle People" and "New Business People" product strategies
- ・ Markets RE-901, the world’s first sensor convection microwave oven with barcode reader
- ・ Develops industry's first Japanese-English translation system using sophisticated text processing technology
- ・ Markets EL-900, a 0.8 mm-thick card-sized calculator
- ・ Develops world’s brightest red and green thin-film EL elements
- ・ Establishes Sharp Trading Corporation
- ・ Establishes Sharp Manufacturing Company of U.K. (SUKM) as manufacturing base in the UK
- ・ Establishes Sharp-Roxy Appliances Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. (SRAC), a joint manufacturing company in Malaysia
- ・ Establishes Sharp-Roxy Sales & Service Company (M) Sdn. Bhd. (SRSSC), a joint sales company in Malaysia
|
- ・ Mikhail Gorbachev becomes USSR Communist Party General Secretary (March 11)
- ・ Tsukuba Science Expo (March 17)
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